Upon the Wingbeat of Butterfly's
by Undying Soul98
Summary: If a butterfly flaps its wings, will a hurricane appear on the other side of the world? Can a single person change the world? Would he want to? With the world against him, a serial killer leaving a hill of corpses in his wake, unknowable spoilers, a GHYL in motion and a bloodstained message, Marcus learns that nothing is as it seems... -OC Self Insert
1. Something About Tusedays

**Chapter 1: Something About Tuesdays**

**AN- Hello all, both new readers and old. This fanfic is a rewrite of an older story I wrote called 'A New Reaper', which I was not completely impressed or satisfied with, so I decided to rewrite it. Admittedly I intended to post this some time ago, but I wanted this done right. Those of you that have read the original version (Which is on my profile, by the way) should notice some changes to the original, many noticeable, others not. Regardless, this version _should _in theory be superior, and I hope that you enjoy it too.**

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. Bleach belongs to Kubo... for now. One day though... one day. My eventual long and complicated master plan should finally overcome him... if I'm lucky.**

**Beta: SadAngel262**

In my experience, there is but one thing worse than mornings. That thing, is Tuesdays. Don't ask me why I hate these two things so much; I would just end up ranting for far too long. In a nutshell, I am everything _but _a morning person. I have never been, and never will be. Spending far too long on your computer, streaming anime and reading TV tropes into the wee hours of the morning has that affect on you. I don't like mornings and mornings don't like me. I require regular doses of caffeine just to ensure that when I get to school I do not resemble a zombie.

As for Tuesdays, there is just something that I _really _hate about that one day of the week. Mondays are fine, Saturdays awesome and Friday's manageable, its just TUESDAY that eternally screws me over. Bad things always occur on Tuesdays! Its like a rule, or something!

Take today for example. I am currently lying on the floor of my small room, tangled within my duvet and cursing whatever deity governs mornings and/or Tuesdays. Also, my alarm is roaring in my ear and I can't turn it off and the display seemingly tells me that I'm late. Yep. I'm late.

Shit.

I'm late. I'm late.

That alarm is _really _pissing me off!

THUD!

Ouch... I just rolled into the side of my wardrobe, and a box filled with god knows what crap on the top of said wardrobe decided that today was a perfectly nice day to try and crush me.

BEEP, BEEP! BEEP, BEEP! BEEP, BEEP! The bloody alarm went on and on. Just how the hell did I not wake up from all that racket?

Actually, don't answer that question. It's Tuesday. Never question Tuesdays…Just like anime logic… questioning it just makes the day ten, no, twenty times worse.

Finally, with herculean effort, I managed to free myself from my captor and throw the alarm against the offending wardrobe. I think that I must have broken it, but screw it. Its Tuesday.

"Oh, hey bro." The door to my room slammed open, revealing the petite form of my younger sister. "You do realise that you're late again? Schools in ten minutes."

"Yeah... I know. I'm late." Hang on... I'm late. School in ten minutes. "SHIT! SCHOOL IN TEN MINUTES!"

"Quite. Tut, tut, tut!" Lily rolled her eyes in a superior manner and grinned her Cheshire Cat grin. If that damned cat was a human with blonde hair, green eyes and a shit attitude, it would take the form of my twelve year old sister. Lily Drake was truly a terror upon the world; I pity whomever marries her in the end. "As a big brother you should set a good example for your _darling _little sister!"

"Shut up Lily!" I threw off the rest of my duvet, tore into the wardrobe for my uniform, and hurriedly started tossing on my various garments. Shirt, tie, pants, trousers. Okay. Thank the lord that I have practice at speed running mornings. Lily, used to my antics, merely turned her back on me while I changed. "I don't suppose you saved me some toast or something?"

"No. If I ever had, would you have learnt anything?"

"Yes. I would have learned that my sister wasn't some sort of malicious harpy."

"Calling your little sister names? Double tut! Just because you're fifteen means nothing."

"Piss. Off." I told her eloquently. I slipped on my blazer and checked my appearance in the mirror upon the inside of my wardrobe. Uniform's fine, my long brown hair is in its usual unruly state, so I applied a comb and hoped to god that it would be suitable. In the end, I managed to flatten it a bit, so it just happened to barely cover my eyes and my ears. Regardless of my hair or uniform, I was as physically fit as ever, by which I meant as thin as a rake with the fragility of china plates and the ability to be snapped like a twig if someone ever thought to pick on 'em.

"No. _You _piss off!"

"You suck." I sighed. "Just go to school."

"Hypocrite."

"Sadist."

"Otaku!"

"I'm not a god damned otaku! I just like anime and stuff!" which was true. I may _like _anime but I was hardly an otaku. For one thing, an otaku is from Japan, and do I _look _like I'm from Japan, or live there? No. I'm as British as they come. Anime was just one of those things I started to like watching after seeing Dragonball Z as a kid (when I didn't even associate it with Japan) alongside Pokemon and Digimon. The hobby grew in secondary school, as my friend James showed me some cool shows like: One Piece, Death Note, Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist, Fate Stay Night and Fate Zero; y'know, the _good_ stuff.

"Okay then, nerd boy!" I couldn't deny that one. I _was_, in fact, a nerd. I was somewhat proud of the title. Us British nerds have a long and rich, complex history, filled with much suffering and strife. Even so, our race forever plunges onwards into geekdom! We shall never give up in our pursuit of good video games and anime series, therefore I am happy to take on the metaphorical mantle of a nerd! I would rather like video games and avoid sports like the plague, than be one of those sports nuts who can only seem to talk in an odd dialect of grunts (Or as those wacky Americans call them 'The Jocks').

"Go away damn it!" Lily obliged. She always got to school on time, so would rather get her mark than throw some friendly banter at her brother. Bitch. I can't say that we're the closest of siblings, but I do enjoy our occasional banter. This didn't decrease the weight of sadism in her soul though. Next step, my bag. I picked my well worn out school rucksack and fled the room, abandoning the mess on my floor left behind by the damned box that tried to crush me tipping over. I'll clean it up when I get home.

I reached the downstairs kitchen and greeted my mum. I checked my watch. Still a minute or so until I reached the MTL (Maximum Time to Leave. James was the one to coin the term, for when the absolute time to leave the house before you would be later for school was needed).

"Late again Marcus Drake?" Mum glanced at me calmly while sampling her cup of tea like a British pro. Mum was used to my Tuesdays, so barely bothered caring nowadays, knowing full well it would almost always end the same.

"Yes?" I threw open the cupboards and quickly chucked the last packet of Walkers and the final bottle of Dr Pepper into my bag.

"What's your excuse this time, young man?" Shit, she pulled out the 'young man' comment.

"In my defence, Tuesdays hate me?"

"Nope." Another sip.

"Mornings hate me?"

"Nope."

"Oh! Look at the time! MTL reached! Bye Mum!" I gave her a quick and awkward hug (Since I was at the awkward age of 15, so hugs were uncool apparently) and sprinted for the door, ignoring mum's complaints.

Now then, I'd better catch up with James and barter with him for some of his damned lunch... again. He makes a killing out of my messed up mornings. Truly, Tuesdays hate me, as do mornings. Those two teaming up against me is certainly foreboding. I just knew that today was going to suck.

XXXXXXXXXX

School was normal. Let's leave it at that. Normal for me means sucking like hell, since mine and James' school was rubbish. Bad teachers, filled with bullies, no proper equipment, occupied by chav's and drowning in its lack of funds.

Lessons were fine (i.e. were rubbish) and I managed to survive double P.E, which was a miracle in on its own rights (Up until a football nearly gave me a black eye), so I could consider the morning barely successful. This was worrying. It was a Tuesday and it was in the morning, so I couldn't have a 'good' morning.

I shall be on my guard, Tuesdays' gonna sneak up on me and bludgeon me with bullshit. I just know it.

Next was Maths and English. Supply teachers, enough said.

Don't even _get me started _on lunch! One word. Burritos. Say what you will, but I believe that the offending food should be well up there on the list of banned weapons, alongside the atomic bomb, chemical weaponry and the dreaded blue shell from Mario Kart.

Finally, after a long afternoon of Physics, me and James were able to leave the school and begin our long walk home.

"You know, I hate school sometimes." I remarked to James off handedly as I sipped the Dr Pepper I had just purchased in my left hand slowly.

"I completely agree." Decided James briskly. "What I wouldn't give to be free of this hell hole. Mark my words, once I get my GCSE'S I'm leaving education and joining my dad's company." James' dad worked with a programming company, which develops various small apps. I could see why James would want to work with them.

"I don't really know what I would do if I left school. I mean, I'm not ready to be an adult. I couldn't survive on my own, and I don't think I'd really want to. Being a salary-man wouldn't suit me, since there would be nothing more miserable than going about a regular desk job only to go home to no girlfriend or family."

"Tell me about it. Oh well, bottoms up." James finished the rest of his own bottle and threw it into a nearby bin on the high-street. "What I wouldn't give to have no worries, to have an exciting life."

I couldn't agree with James' words more. The thing about life is that more often than not, it sucks. You climb the corporate ladder and become part of the nameless crowd, or you become a NEET and live a disappointing life to both yourself and your family. Even worse, in life you'll probably die without any sort of legacy, Save for any children that you might have conceived along the way.

Its sort of sad.

I don't want to be like that. Its stupid to say so, but I _want _to be remembered. I don't want to just be part of a crowd, a nameless person who is no different to anyone else in the world.

"I sometimes wish that I could just go live in a book or a video game, or something." Joked James. "I mean, you could do worse than spending your life as a pirate looking for One Piece, or an Alchemist working for the military."

"A Magus' life would kick ass." Trace On, UBW for the win! "And could you imagine being a Pokemon trainer?"

"Hell yeah! Nearly as kickass as being a Shinigami in Bleach, or even just being an orange clad ninja! Anything would be better than continuing in eternal monotony."

Yep, you could do worse than being a Shinigami. "Do you ever think that maybe we get a bit too philosophical when drinking Dr Pepper?" I asked.

"Nah! You can never blame the Dr Pepper!" James laughed, as did I. It was nice just to stand there in the afternoon sun and talk with a friend.

Its a shame some things never last. After all, things change. They always do.

It happened a few minutes later, a moment that would be perfectly clear in my memory, no matter what would ever occur. Looking back, it wasn't even that exciting or memorable moment. It just happened.

I was waving bye to James. He had just said a joke, which I couldn't remember, and was leaving me to go down a separate road, since we lived in different locations.

Anyway, I waved goodbye and took a large gulp of my drink.

I stepped off the curb to walk across the necessary road, still waving.

James called out to me, so I focused in on his surprised face. It was weird, I don't think I'll ever know just what that expression was trying to convey.

Then it happened. The one moment where everything changed for me.

The glaring sun on my bony shoulders, a not so comfortable heat warming me through, my friends voice calling out inaudible words, a nearly empty street, the bell on a corner shop ringing as someone entered it, Dr Pepper a tang in my mouth, the bottle falling from my loose grasp, a large Tesco lorry just out of the corner of my eye, a driver bobbing his head to an unknown rhythm, headphones on and eyes off the road, the feel of the bag on my back, damned ache in my forehead and a momentary disorientation.

Silence.

I stepped forwards, and then the entire world seemed to _blink_.

You know that feeling when you wake from a dream, only to imagine that you're still asleep, or that the dream itself was reality, and that you had instead fallen asleep? Or perhaps the feeling when on a cloudy morning the sky parts and the sun reveals itself, the temperature soaring, giving you the impression that you're in a completely different place, would be more appropriate to what I was feeling.

One moment I was on a busy street walking home from school, the next I was elsewhere. There was no portal or multicoloured light show, no flash or sudden drop. Nothing. Just a mere step. I walked forwards out of nothingness into a new, unfamiliar location.

The place seemed foreign. No, it _was _foreign. The building style was completely alien to anything you would normally find in England. I can't really explain or describe them. I was a bit too confused to note the details.

"_Japanese,"_ I think. Rather, an isolated part of my brain tells me this.

I took a few more steps before I registered my surroundings completely. Then, I tripped over in surprise.

"OUCH! WHAT THE HELL!?" I got up, cussing loudly and re-analysed my surroundings.

I blinked once.

Twice.

Oh look, some people are wearing kimono's, I think.

Thrice.

And then…I did the rational thing…

"WHAT THE LITERAL FUUUUUUUUUUCK!?"

…And panicked.

Okay Marcus, lets think things over rationally. Where the hell are you? Not England, that's for sure! You're in some sort of foreign location through unknown means. First, lets check to see if this is some sort of elaborate dream.

Pinch. No. I'm definitely awake.

Next, is this a hallucination? No idea how to check that one, so I'll push that thought to one side.

Maybe someone knocked me unconscious, then left my unwilling body elsewhere?

No. I have no recollection of blacking out, nor do I have any blank spots in my memory. I came here standing up, so that idea was pretty stupid. Back to the drawing board.

So for now, I guess I have to assume that I've somehow teleported or something as equally conceited as that. It makes little sense, but what else is this Japanese style estate doing here? A location like this couldn't possibly be near my place of residence, therefore it probably isn't.

Three major issues to deal with. One: where am I? Two: what am I doing here? Three: _how _did I get here?

Well, I can solve number one quite easily. I'll ask one of the various people that are going about their daily businesses. Hopefully, one of them will be able to speak English.

"Hey." I walked up the street and approached a man stood at a stall of some sort selling fruit and vegetables. "I don't know if you can understand me, but can you help me? This is a stupid question, but where exactly am I?"

The middle aged man looked me over once or twice, paying attention to my clothing in particular. "No, it's not a stupid question. Based on your choice of clothing, you're probably new here, right?" I nodded, not really knowing what else to say. "You're in the Rukon District, East 32."

Hang on, I think I've heard that name before. "Right thanks."

"So that's the current trend in the human world eh?" The man pointed to my school uniform.

"What do you mean by 'human world'?" I have a really bad feeling.

The man sighed irritably, his patience wearing thin. "Shinigami nowadays, useless I tell you. They don't even bother giving basic details now."

"Shinigami?" Okay then, this is REALLY starting to sound familiar, but not in a good way. Rukon District and Shinigami... it can't POSSIBLY be that simple... can it? Hell, me and James even mentioned the subject earlier today, it couldn't be quite that simple or unrealistic!

"For the love of," The man prepared to swear, then stopped himself. He probably realised that getting angry wouldn't affect my ignorance in the slightest. "You're dead! Got it? Dead! Didn't you get the picture when you were wandering about unable to interact with the world until a man in black pulled a damn sword on you? This place is the land of the dead."

Yes. Apparently, it _is _that simple. This sounds stupid, even to me and my nerdish standards, but it seems like I must be in a _badly _written fanfic. Such a thing is the only conceivable idea that makes any possible sense, because people in real life just _don't _find themselves _magically _transported into an anime franchise!

No. I refuse to accept such a stupid idea. It's illogical and it's unlikely, its stupid and improbable! Such a thing just doesn't happen, no matter how much you might want it to! Real life doesn't work like that!

This is said with what is probably a large amount of denial, but I just couldn't have been systematically transported into the anime franchise 'Bleach'!

"Young man," Stated the shopkeeper sympathetically, his anger gone in favour of stopping a random teenager form hyperventilating in front of his stall. "Perhaps I should have broken it to you more gently. Some people can't accept the facts sometimes, you see."

"Oi! Reg! Someone giving you problems?" A muscular man came over from his own stall and sized me up... not that my size is anything to brag about, even if I am tall for my age.

"No. He's just a bit..." The newly named 'Reg' couldn't seem to find a word for me.

"Look." I told them. "I'm not upset, just _really _confused. So what you're telling me is that we live in a world where Shinigami whisk people away to the after life and have fantastical battles against evil, black monsters, and wield badass swords, and that we're all dead?"

"Yes." The two men told me at once, clarifying my theory. So yes, I am in a bad fanfic. So yes, Tuesday was probably responsible for this. That's it. I give up. I want to go home! This is stupid, improbable and illogical! Come on Tuseday, you've had your fun! I mean, throwing me into some sort of stupid Self Insert? Surely you have better standards than that?

Not sending me home? Fine. Apparently Tuesday doesn't have standards.

As such, there is but one course of action I can proceed on to ensure I get my sweet tasting revenge.

First, I'll join Team Aizen, help him become Soul King, then I'll use his powers to force the metaphorical materialisation of Tuesdays to appear before me in a male form... then I'm gonna knee him in a rather painful location. Following this, I'll sue Tuesday's ass for ruining my life. And I don't care if some witty jury says something stupid like: "You can't sue a day of the week.". I'll do it anyway, because screw it! Its a Tuesday! _Nothing _ever makes sense on this particular day!

"I call bullshit!" I snapped, glaring at the sky. "I," I pointed to myself. "am not dead! I have no memory or recollection of dying, and was breathing perfectly fine before I somehow ended up here!"

"He's in denial." Decided Reg. "he'll probably get over it."

"You don't understand." I told them.

"Yes we do. Now get the hell out of here and get used to it!" The large man shoved me, I fell over. Ouch.

"I. AM. NOT. DEAD! You hear me? I have not died, so I can't be in the land of the dead, damn it!" Seriously, I can't possibly be dead. For one thing, unless my afterlife is modelled after Bleach, I am unlikely to suddenly drop dead and not remember it! I don't even know how I got here, so I couldn't have been brought here by a Shinigami!

_"Just what the hell is this racket?" _Added an unknown voice.

"JUST SHUT UP!" I yelled.

"We didn't say anything!"

"Yes you did!"

_"No they didn't." _Responded the voice.

"RRAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!" A sudden call reverberated through the street. Various people screamed at the sound, and immediately turned their tails and ran. The two shopkeeper's looked behind me on the floor and followed suit, legging it.

I stood up and felt a presence behind me. I REALLY don't want to turn around.

_"Just turn around." _Remarked the voice from before, even though there is nobody around to say such things. _"I've been sleeping for a while, so I want to know just what is responsible for waking me, since giant shouts and Japanese streets didn't seem to have been a part of your lifestyle when I first got here."_

I ignored the voice for the time being, mainly because the only person here was myself, so I wasn't going to get in argument with myself, since myself was the only person that could have possibly said anything.

Instead, I turned around to see if my other suspicion was correct.

Yes, there was a giant frig' ass monster stomping towards me. Yes, it was made of a substance reminiscent of melted tar mixed into liquid shadow. Yes, it wore a mask of porcelain bone. Yes, it had big ass hammer like fists. Yes, it was huge. Yes, there was a giant hole going through its midnight stomach. Yes, it could only be described as a Hollow.

"RRAAAARRGGGHHH!"

It seems like I really am in Bleach. All the facts point towards it. Japanese buildings, Rukon District, Shinigami, a voice emanating from inside my head, the afterlife and Hollows… Yes, the only explanation is that I have fallen into Bleach.

So I have fallen into Bleach, I must accept this fact for the time being, and a Hollow is currently looking hungrily in my direction... and I'm not running when all rational men would have. Shit.

_"Okay." _Said the voice._"_That _is new! I'm pretty damn sure the world didn't have those when I went to sleep."_

_"Bugger your sleep."_ I told it.

_"Bugger you. That monster is still coming for you, so I think that unless you've figured out how to use your various powers, we should run."_

I ran. I turned my back on the thing... and got the hell out of Dodge!

XXXXXXXXXX

I don't know how long I've been running, or how I've had the energy to do such a physical task, considering my abysmal P.E record, but I did it anyway. I ran as fast and as far as possible, while the bastard decided to focus on me for some reason that AUTHOR ONLY KNOWS!

_"Look, I am sort of confused. This isn't normal, is it?"_

_"NO!" _I yelled back inwardly, panting frantically as I zipped down various streets, the beast behind me.

SMASH!

DAMN! Okay, I dodged it. I slowed down a bit and one of the hammer fists nearly clipped me, smashing a nearby wall instead when I ducked into an alleyway.

_"So just to clarify, this is the first time a monster has been hot on your tail?"_

"For the love of frig," I croaked out. "YES! So unless you have something useful to say, slither of my own sub consciousness, SHUT UP!"

_"... Run?"_

"NO SHIT!"

I ran. The alleyway manoeuvre bought me a bit of time while it was forced to go round, but I didn't know just how long it got me. My best chance is to outpace it or flee this town, and hope that a Shinigami senses the Hollow and comes to my aid.

Still panicking about this whole situation by the way. My mum is going to _kill_ me! If the Hollow doesn't do so first.

_"Then how did you get into this situation?" _The voice, that I had decided was a he, asked.

_"Look. You're a voice in the back of my head, consequently you should know exactly HOW this situation occurred! Just root through some memories and see for yourself!"_

_"I'm a hitch-hiker, not a miracle worker!"_

I ignored the voice, once again. I have never heard this voice ever before, but he is certainly talkative once he gets going.

While I'm thinking, just where is everyone? Hiding, no doubt in that.

_"LEFT! LEFT! LEFT!" _I instinctively obeyed and turned down the stated street, narrowly missing a cart thrown down the centre path by Mr Hollow.

LOOK! This is the end of the town. Grass and a nearby forest, no buildings or people. Perfect. Hopefully the Hollow will stick around in town for an easier meal, since more people would be found in the town than in the forest.

_"SPEED UP!" _I tapped into my empty tank of gas and peddled onwards, grinding to a spluttering stop once I entered the safety of the woodland.

Damn, am I unfit.

_"Yes, yes you are."_

"Shut. Up. Before I reach in there and throttle you." I whispered darkly. I have no idea how I would go about doing such a thing, but it's an impossible day, even by Tuesday standards. I'll find a way!

_"No... no."_

"What?"

_"Can't you sense it? No, of course you can't. ITS STILL COMING!"_

I don't know how the hell this voice knew, but I had nothing to lose by trusting its judgement, for now.

With a bit of time to rest I continued to run. A roar alerted me towards the Hollow's damned persistence. It seemed a bit more distant, maybe I'm finally losing it?

_"Just what are you going to do if that thing catches up with you?"_

_"I don't know."_

_"Will you fight? Will you die? Will you flee?"_

_"I don't know. Run, its safer."_

_"It will follow you. You're all alone... nobody will get to you in time. The boy called Marcus Drake will die, leaving no legacy behind him. Just when life starts to change from its normal monotony, he'll sadly die."_

"SHUT UP!" Alas, he was right. If that thing caught up with me, I'd probably die. I don't think I could run away again, I'm knackered. Its like I've run a ten mile long race.

_"You just can't handle the truth." _He told me. _"Running never solves anything... It merely delays your problems."_

"So what do YOU suggest I do then!" I shouted out loud in annoyance and fear. I couldn't run away and I can't fight that thing as I am. All I have is my school bag, and an annoying voice in the back of my head, neither of which will help. I have no sword to swing, no power to fight with, no gun or Magic to fire. Just me, myself and I.

_"If you can't fight it as you are, then just use something that will."_

"CRAP!" I stumbled into a clearing and rolled, landing in the centre of the large expanse of grass. Trees circled around me in a wide ring, encircling this large shelter from the hazards of the forest. I was alone, for the moment. I lay there panting. Just what can I do?

"RRARRGGGHHHH!" Trees were knocked aside as the berserker charged into the makeshift arena. I was forced to roll once more to avoid him stampeding me.

Now, I was truly in the centre of the clearing.

_"You're going to have to fight him now. By the time you get up, he'll be upon you."_

_"HOW!?"_

The voice paused for a moment. _"You are stronger than you think."_

_"Pardon!?"_

_"I chose you for a reason. You're strong, you have an amazing potential to change the world, even if you aren't consciously aware of it. I picked you because deep inside you have an ability which WILL do the impossible, if you desire it to! Don't ask me how I know... I just do. I believe you can push beyond your Mortality, just turn on your hidden powers!"_

I focused intently, imagining a magical hellfire of doom or something equally powerful to vanquish my enemy. Nothing came, save for the new sweat nervously dripping down my face. I can't change the world, merely scowl at it. What exactly did I expect anyway? I'm listening to the advice of a voice in the back of my head, which is the first sign of madness anyway.

Enough moaning, I picked myself up. For some reason, the Hollow was content to stand there. It cocked its head sideways and roared once more. "RRRAAAARRRGGGGHHHHH!"

From around the clearing, ten holes or darkness materialised. _"A Garganta." _Muttered the voice slowly. _"I remember it from that one time I watched... no!"_

From inside the Garganta's, black figures emerged. They were small and imp-like, barely reaching my waist, but they were many. Pointed masks and edged teeth, sharp claws and a menacing aura promising a painful death via pack. They chortled loudly, and the chief Hollow that has led me here joined in.

That facial expression? Was it glee? Or was it sadism? No, it was a smug look.

These Hollows obeyed it, so it laid an ambush, to ensure its next meal could not escape it, considering its own abnormally slow speed. It would lead an unsuspecting soul into the forest, chasing the poor soon-to-be-meal to this very spot, then at his call the minions would appear and assist him in killing its next meal.

It was a bastard move, and I was stuck. Now I was certain to die. Eleven hungry monsters against one nerdy teenager without any sort of weapon... bad odds. VERY bad odds!

_"You need to turn on your powers... NOW!"_

"Come on!" I muttered tensely. "Trace on! Haddoken! Zangetsu! Persona! Caladbolg! Excalibur! Deus Ex Machina! Transformation sequence activate! Anything!?" Nothing worked! I literally don't have any powers, or at least if I did miraculously have some hidden ability, I can't activate them!

_"Activate them now! Or we're both doomed!"_

_"I JUST CAN'T!"_

The minions circled in slowly, taking another step towards their helpless prey.

_"FINE!" _The voice pondered. _"You don't know how to activate your powers... and we don't have _something _to specifically help you turn them on... so... yeeaaaahh. That _could_ work!"_

_"WHAT?"_

Another step in. I spun round, eager to ensure that nothing struck from behind me.

_"I have no idea if it WILL work, but it might... if we're VERY lucky! It's our only chance. You see, if you can't consciously activate your power, if you're too disconnected... perhaps I can do it for you? What if I acted as a buffer, or a pair of training wheels on a bike, or something?"_

"WHO KNOWS!" I shouted. "Just do something!"

_"Okay. I'll give it a try. To do this though, I need total trust... I'm gonna be delving into your mind and soul a bit _too _much for this to be performed unwillingly."_

Why not? Fine. Lets let the mystery voice route around in your mind... nothing could POSSIBLY go wrong! "FINE!" I have no other choice anyway, so I might as well act on this slight possibility for survival.

_"Basically, you'll try to visualise the form your power is to take, and I'll collect the power and shape it for you, before I give it to you to be released into the world. Hopefully this should forge enough of a bond between you and your 'power' that you're able to use it, albeit severely underpowered. This might blow up miserably though, so I'm going to have to delve deeper into that which makes you Marcus Drake, Marcus Drake. It should be irreversible if we do this. Our fates will be linked further than they already are."_

That sounds ominous. _"I'll have to be your sword and shield, there is no other choice."_

Another step. One minion got impatient and leapt. I narrowly stumbled out the way and kicked the thing away from me. This only excited the others more.

_"If not, you'll die, and me along with you. This could potentially stop you from ever truly accessing your full power, or it might prevent you from ever being able to control it fully by yourself. This is permanent. Are you willing to accept this?"_

_"YES! Just do it!"_

_"Okay. I'm starting now."_

An odd sensation of falling, of drowning, of burning in a sea of unknown pain. I fell to one knee. The clearing swayed. It was... excruciating. I remained conscious... barely. I had to fulfil my end of the deal.

Memories surfaced. Some mine, others not. _My dad's funeral, my mums tears. _**An unknown man in a white suit, in a mirror. **_Seeing Lily for the first time. Meeting James._**Twelve others sat around the table with me, a council of absolute authority. They say my name and give me my next assignment. **_Year Seven, a boy punched me. A Christmas with the family all together, grandparents, cousins, aunties and all that._**A boy at a funeral, he's crying. **_**A Tesco van, I drop my Dr Pepper bottle. We sink into an endless, bottomless, sea.**_

Even so, I try to ignore these images, these thoughts, these memories. The voice told me to visualise something, something to slay my foe.

A burning sensation at my very centre of being.

_Maths classroom, Year Nine. English, Year Eight. _**The council together once more, some of our members are sad. One of us left, I think. I want to follow him. **_Why is my mum crying? _**Why did he leave anyway?**

I need to visualise something. How about a weapon? Yeah. A Shinigami could kill one of these pricks. A Shinigami would slay all these bastards!

_James looks at me. I think 'You could do worse than being a Shinigami'._

Yeah, Shinigami are cool. Is there anything better than yelling 'GETSUGA TENSHOU' at the top of your voice? Is there anything better than the absolute confidence of owning a Zanpakuto, of knowing the very nature and name of your soul?

**I think that I'll follow him. **_You know, I've always liked stories. _**I'm fed up of them dictating that which I can and can't do. **_Dad was a hero, a fireman. I wonder if, I too, could ever be a hero? _**I want to leave! To be free! **_I want to be a hero! It's childish, but I do! _**Who doesn't want to be free? **_Who doesn't want to be one of the good guys?_

All directions point south. The voice tells me that I have an unseen power, sort of like Ichigo Kurosaki. Wouldn't it be cool if it turns out I was a Shinigami all along?

_**We approach the centre of our being. There! A power, unseen, untapped!**_

What I want is to kill these Hollows, so what better a tool than a Zanpakuto? If my power must take a form, I want a Zanpakuto! I have a voice in the back of my head, so why not?!

_Christmas. _**Why? Why is he gone? Why did he leave me? **_Why did dad have to die? __**A funeral.**_

I need to focus. I feel like I'm repeating myself.

"GRROOAAARRGGGGHHHH!" The Hollow roared.

Pain. Lots of it. My hands feel heavy. They clench.

I want a Zanpakuto damn it! I want to have frig ass adventures and kill some Hollows! I want to fire energy beams, chuck fireballs, and have a damned beam sword!

_**We're there! **_**I need to get it! I need to access that power! To control it!**

There is but one form my power should take. A sword! I want one... now! A katana, or a broadsword, or a lightsaber! Something!

_**We're there! **_**I've got it! I'm in control now! **_**Deep inside, something tears away, something irreplaceable shatters, then is reattached in a new, fantastical, unforeseeable fashion. One may not interact with the power, but both might.**_

_"VISUALISE SOMETHING DAMN IT!" _The screaming voice tears through my delusions and the pain, reminding me that I have a job to do. The voice controls and shapes the power, I release it in the way I TELL it to!

The Hollows leap.

Okay. I want a sword. I'll _have_ a damned sword. Long. Not too long. Strong. Black is cool.

_**An unseen tap is released. A steady drip, drip of power flows.**_

Like lightning, the pain stops, it numbs. In my hands, a sudden weight is dropped. I nearly stumble.

I look down and… I have a SWORD now! It's a thin blade, 24 inches long, definitely western in nature. No curve, it was straight and bladed on both sides, the fuller a slightly lighter shade than the rest of the metal. Sharp. Quite sharp actually. The colour of the metal itself was a pale grey, the sort of colour which reminds me of cloudy days in the Autumn, with an edge traced black, as if it had been dipped within molten darkness. The handle, the hilt? Anyway, it was black, with a plain guard and no pommel; a foot of cold, hard metal, engraved with a navy criss-cross pattern, to help the wielder grip it.

It was perfect, it was awesome, and it was all mine!

_"Thanks." _I told the voice, directly addressing it.

_"No problem..." _He seemed out of breath... if such a thing was possible for a voice occupying ones mind. _"Call me Javan."_

CUT! With reflexes I didn't realise I possessed, and probably don't possess, I managed to slice one of the small minions leaping for my back in half with my new sword, spraying Hollow blood onto the trampled grass as I did so.

A second bounded for my leg and latched on with its sharp teeth. I grit my teeth, the pain was less than the initial thing I had done with Javan (Still have no idea what it actually was that he had done). With sharp deliberation and an equally sharp weapon I angled my blade and attempted to thrust into the beast without accidentally stabbing myself in the foot in the process.

It leapt off at the sound of my weapon thrusting, so once my blade thrust into the ground I had failed to kill it.

Behind me, another minion leapt. Fearing pain and consequently death, I dropped to the floor. A WHOOSH alerted me to the fact that it had sailed over my head.

The entire Javan thingy and this all happened within 30 seconds. To me, it had seemed to have taken an age.

The hammer fisted leader stood back smugly, while his 9 remaining followers circled me.

I have no idea if I can win, but I will BLOODY WELL TRY!

"Bring it on... bastards!" I charged, sword in hand, at the leader. Kill the commander and the troops will flee!

Suddenly, a voice broke through the clearing. "Snap! _Tobiume_!" A fireball launched from the edge of the clearing, then smashed into the first Hollow about to attack. It impacted with its side and exploded, destroying the creature instantly.

A second and third blast of fire followed, directed at either side of me. I continued to charge. BOOM! BOOM!

Another Hollow dead. The one that bit me earlier to be precise.

SLASH! CUT! I swung my thin weapon at another Hollow to attack me and cleaved it in four. Adrenaline soaked me and assisted my aim, as this was my first time using a sword.

A flash to my side alerted me to the presence of my saviour. A petite girl in black robes, with brown hair tied up in a bun and a serious look on her face. I already knew her identity, based solely on the Shikai release. It was Himamori Momo, the lieutenant of Squad Five. More proof of being in the Bleachverse for me!

"_Hado No 30,_" She chanted, a hand already extended. "_Sokatsui_!" **(Blue Fire, Crash Down) **Bright blue fire erupted from her open palm and incinerated the next three in line. The lead Hollow finally figured out that his odds were low, with seven of his minions already dead by either my blade or Momo's fire.

I looked back at Momo as I continued to run, she gave me a solemn nod and gestured to her weapon. I could tell that she was probably saying something like 'I'll back you up!' or 'I'll spam fireballs!'.

Either way, she was bailing me out. Momo has never really seemed to be an up close fighter in the anime, so standing back and Kido-ing probably suits her better. As such, it seems like she trusted me enough to let me take the lead.

I just wish I knew what I was doing. I was sort of winging it, going with the flow, flying on a high of adrenaline and smugness upon the fact that I have a Zanpakuto.

"_Tobiume_!" Aaanndd another one bites the dust. The lead Hollow thrusts forwards, to he far side of the enclosure. A black tear appears, a Garganta.

"Oh no you don't, BASTARD!" I roar, using the last of my energy to speed up after him, to prevent his escape.

SLASH! The next Hollow to defend its master met by sword. I continued. A thin beam of lightning fired past my side, impacting with the final minion's skull. The leader was all alone now... no meat bags for him!

"DIE!" The Hollow turned to swing back at me with one large fist, as he attempted to escape. I wasn't gonna let him though! I used my miraculous moment of highness to dodge to one side, still charging. Momo showed her capabilities too, appearing besides me in another burst of Shunpo. BOOM! The right hand side of the monster exploded, destroying the second arm that had attempted to bludgeon me. "Finish it!" She told me.

I complied. "YAARGGGHHH!" In a reckless display of bravery, I somehow managed to get right up close to the stumbling beast's quickly regenerating side and throw all my remaining energy into stabbing the monster in the face.

Blood splattered everywhere. My Zanpakuto cracked through the mask obscuring the Hollow's face from the world, and destroyed it. Giving a final wail of terror, the thing that had bee trying to kill me for god knows how long died, and I felt rather glad that I had been the one to finish it off.

So now with all the demons gone, I was left alone in the clearing with Momo, who was studying me intently, a satisfied look on her face at the fact that she had managed to save me from total damnation.

Well, it seemed like total damnation, until I pulled out a Zanpakuto, that is.

This might be a bad thing. I distinctly remember that back in the Bleach anime, Ichigo got into trouble for taking Rukia's powers and wielding a stolen Zanpakuto. Considering I'm now in said anime, and that I have just pulled a weapon out of my ass, and that I'm an _alive human,_ which sort of makes me a Ryoka, and that therefore I am a Ryoka with a Zanpakuto, I am probably in trouble.

Either way, I knew this morning that today was going to suck. You see, its a Tuesday thing. Tuesdays _always _screw me over.

Following this declaration, my legs gave way beneath me, rather suddenly might I add. Momo, lunged forwards and a great pressure fell on my mind. Sudden exhaustion and pain which I had been ignoring surged back into me, and so I was swept away by the repressed current of experiences, questioning just how and why I have ended up in the situation that I am now in.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Its often said that all people in the world have choices, whether they notice they do or not. _

_Choice. It's the fundamental right of all of humankind, to decide their own fate and pursue the future that they desire above all else. Whether they reach their desired conclusion or not is an entirely different matter, one for another time and one that they make themselves._

_Once a decision is made, it may not be changed. This is another rule of nature that runs alongside free will; history is unchangeable. Once you reach a point in your journey where a road branches off into two separate directions, and you select a single route to follow, you may not turn back and make the choice again, and you _can't _just skip between one road and the next._

_Humanity must see their choices through to the end, they must accept that while the future is undecided, the past is set in stone._

_Thus is Fate, a path that humanity has willingly picked. Not an undecidable future, but an irreversible past and a malleable present._

_And Fate doesn't like to be changed. She's a sticker for the rules like that, as unmovable as the history she protects._

_So when a bug does show up in her carefully constructed system, she ruthlessly attempts to squash it, to correct the errors, to return history to its natural destination... before any lasting damage may be achieved._

_One bug escaping her was insulting enough, a second could not be allowed to grow. It had to be deleted, immediately. And maybe she knew just the right way to do it._

**AN- Well, this first chapter is completed. I hope that its set a good tone for what will eventually come. I intend to write something similar to a self insert, only write it realistically and try to develop both canon characters and my own OC's that will start showing up sometime next chapter.**

**The start might be a bit slow to get up to canon, but once I do arrive at the SS arc onwards I intend to change some canon details. You see, I hate it when OC's never end up changing any details whatsoever; if I wanted canon I'd watch the anime, not read fanfiction. Bare with me, even if it seems like nothing is changing, it is. It _really _is.**

**So until next chapter, please tell me what you thought of this chapter. Any criticism or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Undying Soul out.**


	2. Awakening

**Chapter 2: Awakening**

******AN- So sorry for the HUGE wait. I've had a very active life recently. First there was my exam prep and the subsequent sitting of said exams, then I had writers block for awhile, then I got over it and began writing again, but hated what I had written, then more writers block, then TV Tropes (Any Tropers out there understand my multiple tab terror), then my mum got remarried, then I FINISHED IT, but then I had beta issues. In short, this chapters been well due for a while, and I know it isn't brilliant, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.**

******Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. But I will... I will... I shall challenge Kubo to Mortal Combat, and I will win even if it kills me. Because I refuse to die when I'm killed before I get at least one popular franchise in my pocket.**

******Beta:SadAngel262**

The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a sterile, white room. I blinked, taking a moment to lay there and enjoy the feeling of a soft duvet around me.

On one hand, most of my brain was screaming at me to question where the hell I was, since my last discernible memory was of walking home with James... before everything went black.

The rest of my mind told me that it was TOO damn bright, and that I should turn over and sleep some more.

I listened to the second voice, flipping over, choosing to think from under the safety and darkness of my pillow. Definitely not a morning, way too bright for that.

Hang on... what's that?

Footsteps, I thought. Yeah, a rhythmic sound of feet falling on floor, originating from nearby.

Just what was I doing here?

Gradually, it started to come back to me. I had a strange dream that I had fallen into the anime Bleach of all things, gained a Zanpakuto, killed some Hollows then fell unconscious after attempting to talk to a Shinigami due to exhaustion.

Sounds sort of stupid. I probably just got hit by a car while walking home and dreamt up the entire situation while I was waiting for medical assistance.

Thus why I was in a sterile, white and too BRIGHT room.

It's the only thing that makes a modicum of sense.

"O-oh!" Stumbled a female voice in startling relief. The volume of the footsteps increased. "You're awake!" Stated the voice, as equally relieved as before.

"Yeah, yeah." I muttered wearily, still not fully awake and thinking about the stupid dream.

_"____More like, still in denial."_

If I had been drinking something, I would've spit it out. I instead opted to shoot up like someone had told me that a copy of Xenoblade Chronicles was going for ten pounds at the nearest game store. Gentle but firm hands reluctantly forced me down.

"S-s-sorry!" She apologised. "But you ___really_need to rest! When Lieutenant Hinamori brought you in, y-you were burning up!"

I looked up at the female that had pushed me down. It was hard to tell since she was looming over me (As much as someone like her could loom), and it was sort of irrelevant for the moment, but she was attractive. _Damned attractive_. Short, blonde hair parted around her heart shaped face, eyes of a sharp, metallic grey colour looked down into my eyes, analysing me with a familiar intensity, scrutinising me with a mildly apologetic expression. The only other feature that I could identify about her was that she was... well... its hard to just blurt it out without being crude, but she was rather ___developed_. And the angle of her above me allowed me a close up shot.

"It's fine." I muttered, my ears turning a deep crimson colour, just like they always do when I get embarrassed. "You can stop holding me down now... It's just... you know."

"Wh-what?" The woman seemed genuinely confused. "Y-you should be resting! As a n-nurse and as a member of the F-Fourth Squad, my duty is to help others recover, to save their h-health, even if force must be applied!" She tilted her head in a sheepish gesture. "T-that's what Captain says anyway."

"It's just that I have a rather interesting ___vantage_point." I told her, attempting to avert my eyes.

"... Ohh." The self proclaimed nurse caught on. "Ohhhh..."She turned an equally red colour as my ears and practically fled from the room, giving me a brief glimpse of her attire, that being some loose black robes to cover her petite form, well, for the most part, and a long, snow coloured nurses coat, obviously unable to show herself due to my blunt comment. Clearly, the stuttering girl was unable to handle such a brutish comment about her... assets. Easily embarrassed, as far as I could tell. Either that, or disgusted at me, assuming that I was a pervert or something.

I'm not though! I averted my eyes! I am NOT some sort of douche that ogles at girls at every opportunity! My parents taught me better than that, I am a perfect gentleman, thank you very much!

_"____Man... if I was you, I would have savoured the moment." _Oh look, the voice is back. ___"Yeah, I'm back."_

I sighed, my convenient self delusion of the whole Bleach thing being a dream draining away as I did. I couldn't lie to myself any more. As ridiculous as it was, I couldn't deny it any more. The voice was there and the woman mentioned things like 'Lieutenant Hinamori' and 'Captain's', clearly telling me that this is not just some ordinary hospital and that I've just had a regular, normal accident.

_"____This is real... isn't it? I'm truly in Bleach?"_

_"____Unfortunately."_I could almost sense the voice giving me a sympathetic smile.

_"____Why am I here?"_

_"____In this hospital?"_Not exactly what I wanted, but oh well. Any answer will do. ___"I think that our... bonding... was a bit too strenuous for you. By all rights you should have collapsed from pain or exhaustion, I just dulled your senses and gave you a surge of adrenaline to keep you moving until the Hollow was dead."_

_"____Then it ran out?"_

_"____Yeah. You fell unconscious as soon as you won."_

KNOCK! KNOCK! "I'm coming in." Spoke a calm voice before the sliding door opened once more. A quite honestly beautiful woman with blue eyes and long black hair braided down her front, garbed in a long white coat entered the room, a serene expression on her face.

Even now I could guess her identity. Bleach is one of my favourite anime series; I've seen the entire series from start to finish and loved it! As such, the woman before me could only be Captain Retsu Unohana herself. Either way, I can't just say that up front. For one thing, it would be REALLY suspicious. The excuse of 'I saw you in an anime' probably wouldn't go down well, and would probably leave me in the Maggots Nest's insanity ward, wearing a straight jacket, surrounded by padded walls and comparing my tinfoil hat collection to the other maniacs.

"Morning." I greeted half heartedly, still a bit irritated that my first interaction with someone from the Soul Society had made me out to be some sort of pervert.

"It's afternoon." She smiled.

"That's a good thing then. I dislike mornings with a vengeance." I sighed. "By the way, I think I might have scared away the nurse."

Unohana blinked. "Oh, her? Don't mind Kasumi. She's easily embarrassed."

"Fair enough." I responded. Unohana analysed me for a few moments, before she took the seat next to me.

"Don't you have any questions?" She asked.

"Many." I half lied, only really wanting to know how I got here and how to go home, already knowing about this afterlife in great detail. "Where am I?"

"You are currently in the Fourth Squad's barracks. This is one of the private rooms in our medical ward."

"That answer is hardly useful for someone who has been in this place for a grand total of an hour." I informed her. I still had no idea what exactly was going on, but I had to cover up... and quick! You see, normally people get annoyed if you tell them that their entire existence is entertainment for fat nerds living in their basements. They question their own existence, deny the truth. The fact that I know the entire plot of Bleach would also cause problems, since I was rather paranoid that I'd be exploited by someone like Aizen if anyone discovered that I know intricate details I shouldn't know.

_"____Cover it up like hell."_Advised the voice, Javan, if I'm not mistaken. I think that's what he called himself. ___"Seriously, I shouldn't need to explain this, since time is short, but for now you need to bluff like hell. I've seen situations like this before; no one would believe the truth."_

Quite.

"I suppose so." Unohana tilted her head to one side in comprehension. "Your state of attire when brought in by Lieutenant Hinamori was distinctly human world based, from this I can deduce that you haven't been in the afterlife for long."

"You mean that guy wasn't JOKING? I keep telling people, I'm not dead!"

"No. You're alive, unfortunately. Therefore the fact that you are in ___the land of the dead_is rather worrying, isn't it?" A smile. It wasn't a very nice one either. Said smile only promised pain and disembodiment. Bloody hell, I can't breathe, why is Unohana so terrifying!? Isn't her character supposed to be some healer that is nice and stuff!? "I suppose you'd better talk. Offer me some answers and I shall give you them in turn."

"S-sure." I gulped.

"I'm glad you're so cooperative." The smile relented and suddenly the world grew several degrees warmer, birds began to sing and the pressure relieved itself. "Firstly, what is your name."

I resisted the suicidal urge to ask her what her quest was, then demand her to tell me the wingspan of an African swallow. I ignored the desire to reference and instead struggled to think of a reasonable answer. Again, this might seem stupid, but I didn't want to give her my proper name. I had no idea what I was doing in the Bleachverse; I knew so little of my transition here. I have no idea if this was a dream, a completely separate universe or merely one very similar to my own only with the events of Bleach going on at the same time.

Basically, I wanted to know if this world is like my own. Does it has the same anime as my own? Does it has Star Wars? Are the background characters not shown here the same as the ones in my own universe, or are they completely new? Is there a version of myself living in the human world somewhere, strolling around with James and debating video games, unaware that another version of him was prowling about having an adventure he could only dream of having?

If I told Unohana my name and she found the other me in her records, what would happen? Would I be called a fake, or would something worse happen? Would they take DNA swabs and find out I'm completely identical? Would they figure out I'm from another world?!

There were just too many risks with using my own full name or revealing hints to my human identity, so what could I do?

_"____Play the amnesic card." _Suggested Javan. ___"They might not believe you, but just claim ignorance, give a false name they can't track and reveal only basics. If we're lucky we won't have to disclose anything too incriminating."_

_"____Right."_But what to use?

"I'm waiting."

Okay. I need to be quick. First off, I can't change my first name. I'd forget it and slip up if I tried to use a different one. That means my first name MUST be Marcus. What about the rest? Hmmm... perhaps I could use Solus? It's the gaming username I often used online and when I briefly tried joining in an MMORPG, only to give up in favour of console gaming due to the fact that I actually had a life. Then I could use a placeholder of 'D' for my middle name, in honour of one of my favourite anime series, One Piece. Yeah... that could work.

"Marcus D. Solus." I informed at last. Yes, it's a name I should be able to remember, and is cool enough that I can be proud to use it. For the duration of my stay in the Seiretei this ___should_protect my identity.

"Nationality?"

"English... I think."

"You think?" The stern woman gazed at me curiously.

"Yeah... my mind's sort of hazy." I mock laughed. "I'm pretty sure I'm British at any rate."

"What are you doing here?"

"I don't know!" I honestly stated. "I remember walking, then suddenly I was in that weird street. I didn't ___die_or anything like that! I just sort of... ___appeared_there! Then they start telling me I'm dead, then that monster shows up, and THEN it tries to eat me!" I say it almost indignantly. "Eat me. I was nearly LUNCH! So I didn't just want to die in that forest, so I decided that I really, really liked living (Even if I could have potentially been dead all along), so I decided not to die! I wanted a tool to kill that thing, so the sword showed up and I killed it!"

"That's the story you're sticking to?" A pleasant pokerface analysed my every word, looking for falsified testimony or covered up lies. Luckily, everything I said WAS true in some way or another. I don't know why I'm here. I did just appear. I did just want to live, and the sword DID just show up like that. I just left out the voice in the back of my head and my own knowledge.

"Yeah. To be honest, things are really a blur. I can talk and I know various facts, figures and pieces of info, but nothing really about my own identity, save for my name and my nationality." Now THIS was a full on lie. I bit my tongue, hoping the powerful Captain noticed nothing amiss.

She smiled. "So you're playing that angle, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I deadpanned her. "I am very worried about my lack of knowledge on my own identity."

"Really?" She smiled.

"Yes."

"Truly?"

"But of course."

"_Honestly?_"

"Yep. It's obviously my number one concern right now."

"You don't sound too convinced."

"Oh yes, I am ___so_convinced." I told her, trying not to break my straight face. I can have a Ayanami Rei poker face too, damn it! I can so pull one off if I try!

The smile remained. "Very well. I suppose such a claim will protect you from unwanted questioning, won't it Marcus?"

"Don't know what you're talking about." I denied.

"Sure, sure." She took a pen from the side desk and write on a medical card in Japanese kanji or something. No idea what it says, but its probably 'amnesic' or a medical name equivalent. "My name is Retsu Unohana, the Captain of Squad Four, if you're interested."

"I have no idea what all these terms mean." I told her.

"Of course. I forgot; you're nothing but a helpless amnesic who has no idea how he arrived in the land of the dead and could perform the impossible and summon a Zanpakuto."

"Hey! I'm as confused as you!" I raised my voice, attempting to sit up in bed. FLICK! "OWW! YOU JUST FLICKED ME!"

"Yes."

"IN THE FACE!"

"So?"

"IT HURT!"

"Suck it up." Unohana stood up. "I can work with what you have provided. I intend to protect you despite your obvious and unsightly lying. As such, I shall back up your amnesic claims, since the alternative includes tossing you to the scientific hounds of Squad 12 to dissect how you did it, summoning an impossible weapon."

"What exactly did I do anyway?" I asked.

"Lieutenant Hinamori, the woman who assisted you, carried you here over the course of three days after she had been assigned to patrol the Rukon District and had found you. You were still knocked out when you arrived, and only woke up today on the seventh day of your stay. Your assigned nurse, Kasumi, was worried you would never wake up. Now today you have." She grimaced. "As for what you did, it was impossible. Obviously, one must be deceased to wield the powers of the dead, the Zanpakuto, the weapon that slays the heavens and purifies the hells. It's a given that only a Shinigami may wield the power to purify evil souls."

"But I did it anyway. I somehow summoned a Zanpakuto." I offered, eager to get this crap over with.

"Quite. You are undoubtedly a human Ryoka that has appeared in our midsts, yet you were still able to project the manifestation of your soul without a Shinigami to give you an Asauchi for your soul to fill up first. This is nearly unheard of, and worrying, particularly for a living human."

"Sorry." I sheepishly raised my hand. "Any breaches of the laws of reality were unintentional on my part."

Unohana sighed. "It doesn't matter anyway. You did it. Still, this might work in your favour."

"How?" I snorted. "Based on your tone, I'm a Ryoka, which is seemingly bad. And I used a Zanpan-thingy, which is bad. Therefore how is any of this a good thing?"

Unohana ignored me in favour of knotting her brows together in worry. "Now that you're awake, myself and Captain Aizen must present an argument before the Central Sixty-Four and the Captains as to why you should be allowed to live: Aizen because his Lieutenant brought you in and I due to treating you." She sighed a deceptive sigh. "We will raise the idea that since you summoned one of our weapons without seemingly any help or contact by a Shinigami, I will claim that since your soul is close enough to a Soul Reapers, that you be treated as one of our own."

"You mean?"

"Yes. So long as you obey by our rules and stay on the strait and narrow, you should be able to escape the chopping block."

I grinned. "That's awesome! I am still a smidgeon confused, but oh well!"

"That should pass." She brushed the issue aside. "Luckily, the Academy only started classes last month in September, so we should be able to enrol you without any issues. We'll assign someone to help you catch up." She pondered. "Also, while the afterlife has a unified language, our writing systems can differ. Do you know any form of Japanese writing?"

"From my vague memories, no." As much I desired Japanese lessons, I never found anyone to teach me, or had any time to learn it in. A shame, think of all the RAW Japanese crap I could have experienced otherwise.

"Then we shall have someone assist you as well." She turned to leave the room. "For now, rest. I must arrange the details of this new arrangement. You are ___my _responsibility though, so stay out of trouble."

I gulped. Truly Unohana was a frightening woman. "Yes, ma'am!"

"Good." That smile still terrifies me more than it reassures me. It was worse than the Joker's for gods sake! "Kasumi shall attend to your needs for today, so ask her any questions that you have. Try not to give one of my favourite pupils a heart attack though, or corrupt her too much." She joked as she left the room, leaving me unable to protest. Undoubtedly the evil woman had been listening in on my wake up, but just chose to imply I was a sexual deviant anyway, just for shits and giggles.

I found myself deciding that I almost wanted Aizen to be my minder. At least he was the devil I knew.

XXXXXXXXXX

The rest of the day I was constrained to my bed by a very insistent nurse (That had managed to overcome her original embarrassment and actually enter the room after a decent amount of time), despite the fact that my ailment had only been mental exhaustion and nothing else. In my defence, she had inherited a certain level of formidable (But cute) authority from her psychopathic Captain.

With nothing much to do, I made conversation. First I tried to talking to Javan in my head, since this whole incident had led me to wonder WHY THERE WAS SOMEONE LIVING IN MY HEAD, no matter how useful said person had been since awakening from his apparent slumber. I had lots of questions I needed answering, but alas, the dick told me that we needed a long conversation which would be best performed when we had time and not when my potential execution was looming over my head like a sharpened guillotine on crack.

Next, I tried to talk to the stuttering, easily flustered nurse. I found out a few things from her stumbling yet endearing responses.

Firstly, her name was Kasumi Kiyono, and according to her, she ___actually_used to live in England at one point in her human life, where she first studied human medicine and worked in a hospital. This prior knowledge led to her choosing to join the Fourth Squad after she finished her training. Small world, huh?

I noticed she was just as easily startled as she seemed at first glance. A bottle of shaken nerves could best describe her regular personality, although I don't exactly know her well enough to make a full analysis.

I also learnt that she was somehow the Third Seat of the Fourth Squad and had been in service to the Gotei 13 for only twenty or so years, meaning her rate of growth had been rather potent. Then again, she also mentioned that the only reason she was so high ranked was due to her medicine skills and not her actual combat potential.

Oh yeah, since I had nothing better to do except twiddle my thumbs, I decided to set up my introduction into this world. When Kasumi asked me about my own life, I lied and played the amnesic card, then asked her about the Soul Society in general. Cue a long lecture on the nature of the Soul Society, ninety-five percent of which I already knew.

Yawn for the rehash of knowledge... But yay for having spoilers which will allow me to survive in this crazy, messed up world! I had made progress in determining where I was in terms of canon (Javan had butted in to force me to do so), Aizen was still a Captain, so we were sometime after that flashback Pendulum arc, but before the whole Kurosaki Ichigo fiasco. Basically, I'm in the 95 percent of the anime not showed on screen, the time when nothing interesting happens.

Then again, this could be an alternate universe where Aizen never rebelled, but I'm not even going to ___try_to open up that can of worms!

Until proven otherwise, Aizen equals sadistic, puppy kicking bastard! My bases are covered!

Speaking of our favourite Magnificent Bastard, Kasumi said that his Lieutenant would visit me at some point.

"Hello?" Asked a cheerful voice from the door. "Is this Mr Solus' room?"

I was about to say 'no', until I realised that Solus was my fake name. "Umm, yeah." I stated, looking at the figure as she gracefully entered the room. Lo and behold, speak of the Hinamori and she shall appear.

"Thank goodness." She smiled an innocent smile. "I'm glad that you're okay."

"As am I." I told her. "Speaking of which, apparently you carried me here."

"Yeah." A frown briefly graced her features. I felt like a total dick head for making a girl as sweet as her make that expression. "I was pretty worried when you suddenly collapsed, so I shunpoed you here as quickly as possible." The frown left her face, as if a cloud obscuring the sun had disappeared, allowing the full, magnificent radiance to be unleashed. "Thank goodness that you're okay."

"Ahem." Humphed Kasumi, looking a little nervous. "V-visiting hours are between t-ten and four. Its now six, m-miss Hinamori! I have to ask you to l-leave!"

Hinamori looked towards the busty young women, as if realising that she was in the room with us. "Surely you can let me off this one time? I'm really happy that Mr Solus has woken up, so I want to congratulate him."

"N-no." Kasumi made a cross shape with her arms, sticking to the rules like a fly to paper. "P-please come back tomorrow." She told her sternly.

_"____Snigger."_I heard a noise clearly similar to a snigger.

"Come on~" Pouted the Fire wielding girl. "Just this once!"

"N-no." She reiterated.

"Don't make me pull the superior officer card." Threatened Momo light heartedly. "I'll be quick!"

Kasumi still looked a bit put off, her cute facial features scrunched themselves up in thought. Eventually she came to a decision. "F-fine!" She snapped. "Be quick." She gave me a final look, then stormed out the room.

"Wow." I vocalised. "I never knew she had that in her." It seems like young Kasumi (Okay, older than me Kasumi) had much deeper courage than I realised. She has steel balls when it comes to the rules. But alas, Momo's fire could melt her inner steel, flooding her with her burning passion to visit a patient; Kasumi struggled frantically, but gave in eventually due to Momo's superior status, and came out on top in the end.

_"____Snigger."_

Hang on... did that sound suspiciously like a possible innuendo?

_"____Yes."_

_"____Well it means nothing."_I decided. Yes. It was just a joke... yes... I'm not ___really _a pervert!

_"____The jury is out on that one."_

"Stop." I said out loud.

"Pardon?" Asked a confused Momo.

"Nothing... Nothing." I shook my head. "Anyway. Thanks for bringing me here. I owe you for that."

"It was my pleasure." Momo really had a pleasant smile, she truly was a caring person. "I'm glad that I was even on patrol that day, since if I hadn't those Hollows would have eaten you."

"Yep. I was dead meat, so thanks again."

"Well, that's what Shinigami are for, helping people." She informed me happily.

"Helping people, guiding them to the afterlife, and killing badass ghosts in supernatural sword battles."

"It is a rather rewarding job." Admitted the bun wearing girl. "I really hope Captain Aizen can help you get into the Academy, the more Shinigami the better!" She leaned in, as if telling a secret. "Actually, I sometimes come in and give Kido lectures." She sheepishly said. In hindsight, that didn't seem like a particularly confidential secret.

"T-times up!" A raised voice wafted through the room, signalling Kasumi's return. She impatiently tapped her foot and glared at Momo. "Y-you need to go now!"

_"____Snigger, snigger, snigger."_

I nearly burst into laughter. While Kasumi ___could_be formidable, this wasn't one of those rare moments. Any attempt Kasumi gave at glaring just seemed too adorable to be threatening. Seriously, is it wrong for a women older than twenty to be called 'adorable'? Probably. Do we care? No. we're too busy trying not to laugh at Kasumi's glare.

"Very well then." Momo bowed once at each of us. "I shall excuse myself then. Bye Marcus!"

"I prefer Marc." I told her.

"Right, I'll visit you again Marc." Momo energetically left the room. Kasumi turned her glare to me.

"Come on!" I stressed. "What have I done to deserve that... ___fierce__... _look?"

"H-how come you asked Lieutenant Hinamori to call you Marc but n-not me?" She seemed rather put off by this.

Another ___"Snigger."_sound reverberated around my mind, really irritating me.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "I do prefer Marc, but I never really corrected you because I noticed the stutter stressing the 'M' more than the name as a whole."

"So c-can I call you M-Marc?"

"Knock yourself out." I rolled over in my bed, then looked at my window. It was starting to get dark. "I wonder how the meeting about me is going?" I asked rhetorically.

"I-It'll be fine... M-Marc!" Kasumi placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure it will." She stated with new confidence. "Captain will get you through this crisis, l-like she did with m-me. She helps people." She laughed. "And if she doesn't h-help, I will."

_"____Snigger, giggle, snigger."_

I mentally snapped. ___"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR GOD DAMNED PROBLEM JAVAN!? You've been giggling like a loon for this entire damned conversation!"_

_"____I just... snigger... can't believe how quick you work... You sly, sly dog."_

_"____Wait... _what___?"_

_"____First day awake and you've already activated several flags! Those two girls affection levels are sky rocketing and you've barely done anything! Kasumi is already pledging to help you!"_

Hang on... is he implying what I think he's implying?

_"____I wonder which route he'll follow...?"_

He _is_ implying ___that_.

_"____MY LIFE IS NOT A DATING SIM DAMN IT!"_I internally roared, while on the outside I glared at the window. Its one thing comparing my life to a bad fanfic due to my shoddy placement in this world, or to an anime due to the medium I have found myself inhabiting, but _a dating sim?_

_"____Hey, I've seen a lot of stuff and a lot of people in my time, and I KNOW where this is going!"_

_"____I'm ignoring you now."_I then proceeded to block out the voice living in my head, which is very difficult considering the fact that HE IS IN MY HEAD, but I did a decent job. I just kept telling myself that I wasn't trying to maximise Affection Points, that he was WRONG...

XXXXXXXXXX

In the end, I nodded off to sleep at around nine, still partially exhausted from the whole incident which led to my placement in the Fourth Squad's medical room. I think I dreamt, of what though, I'm not sure.

Shattered images, vague feelings which weren't mine, blank faces of those I don't know or should know but don't anyway. Thoughts, feelings and memories.

All that left my mind as I woke up late morning to more annoying sunlight, feeling refreshed, but severely displeased with the sun for waking me.

I chose to lie there for a bit and think, since I still didn't feel like getting up. I said think, but I really meant _worry_. I mean, my very life was at risk at the moment, I still had no idea if Aizen and Unohana's gambit would work and secure me a 'get out of jail free' card or not, or if my execution was currently being planned, and my family was probably worried sick about me not coming home from school.

Its like waiting for the results of an important exam to see if you could enter a new school, only more stressful and potentially less beneficial to my health.

After who knew how long, a brief knock alerted me to the fact that someone has entered the room. Cranking my eyes open, I saw Kasumi cheerfully approach.

"W-wake up Marc. I know you're awake!" She scolded gently.

"Yeah, yeah." I complained, giving up the fight and sitting up to address the nurse. "I'm up."

"H-Here." She shoved something onto my bed, a black pile of undefined stuff. "C-Captain says your well enough to g-get up and w-walk around."

"I kept telling you," I complained lightly. "I'm fine. I was just tired, I could have probably gotten up yesterday."

"H-Here at the F-Fourth Squad, we try to verge on the cautious." She gave me a bright and an apologetic smile. "S-Sorry for the inconvenience." She bowed once, then walked over to the door, hiding her face from me. "I'll l-let you g-get changed now!"

I sighed. No wonder she was eager to run away from me. This black pile was probably Shinigami attire, and since she probably still assumed I was a pervert, she was worried that I would throw myself at her when I was changing my clothes.

_"____Would you?" _Asked the irritating voice in my head known as Javan.

_"No."_

_"____Reeeeaaalllly?"_

_"____Yes."_

_"____You suuuuure?"_

_"____YES, YES I AM!"_I snapped back. Javan was surprisingly immature at times, almost schizophrenic in his mood swings between calm and serious and childish and perverted. I let loose another sigh; Javan was still making jokes about raising flags, even after a day had passed since the apparent incident.

Slapping myself briefly to remind myself to get up, I scrambled to my feet, glad to finally be able to escape the bed which had trapped me for god knows how long. Eagerly, I shrugged off the hospital gown thing I had been given and attempted to put on the clothes I was given.

I think I failed miserably.

This was the first time I had ever even laid my hands upon Japanese style clothes, so I was absolutely clueless as to how to wear them. Javan was unfortunately equally as oblivious (___"Hey, I'm a man of fine suits, not robes!"_He said), so it was mainly the two of us improvising as we went along.

Finally, I was moderately pleased in how I was dressed. White undergarments on, and the kimono thing wrapped around me, tied up somewhat successfully with some cloth. Hey, call me uneducated, but I have no idea what half of the stuff I'm wearing is.

Reluctantly, I exited the room and noticed Kasumi waiting for me. "Hey." I greeted, significantly more awake.

Kasumi appraised my clothing with a raised eyebrow, seemingly not impressed. "M-Marc?"

"Yeah?"

"Y-You mentioned you were English, right?"

"Yes." I wondered where this enquiry was going.

"Has n-nobody ever shown you h-how to wear a kimono?"

I scoffed. "No, never. I might not remember much, but I know that whatever life I led I would have probably never needed to know how to wear one."

The nurse frowned. "O-Oh."

"Why, is there a problem?"

"Y-Yes. Its just... you look..."

"Devilishly handsome? Roguishly masculine?" I suggested.

"N-no. Your attire is inappropriately worn." Kasumi gave me a sympathetic smile. "Y-you weren't in the R-Rukon District long, so we can't help your lack of knowledge. Don't worry, I was once c-clueless too!"

After this, the young woman ushered me back into my room and tried to show me how to correctly wear the blasted thing. I won't go into details; it was embarrassing, degrading and difficult.

Eventually I was given the all clear, so was allowed out of my room on a very small leash, now suitably attired.

"H-here we are!" Kasumi led me through the barracks while some of her colleagues looked on curiously, resulting in her leading me to much less formal room filled with sofas, chairs and low coffee tables. It was rather cosy actually, if not empty. There was only a few people relaxing in the room, with most of them being members of the staff that were cradling cups of tea or coffee.

"This is our s-staff room." Exclaimed Kasumi happily. "W-we come here when we're off duty. C-Captain said you could come here for a c-change of scenery. I would have taken you to the patients area so you could interact with the others b-but due to your... ___circumstances__, _Captain wanted you away from others."

"Fair enough." I gave her a smile of my own, taking one of the nearby comfy seats and getting comfortable. "I guess its better than being cooped up in my room."

"Oh, hey Kiyono." Greeted one of the relaxing Shinigami. He stood up and smiled at her. I noticed that he was rather short and had chin-length hair. I don't know why, but he looked familiar.

"O-Oh, hey Hanataro!" Greeted Kasumi, as cheerful as ever. "H-How's it going?" Oh yeah! He's that guy that showed up that one time in the Soul Society arc!

"Good enough." He explained. "I just had an early shift cleaning up the prisoner cells again."

"Y-You do realise that your schedule shouldn't have so much cleaning in it, r-right?" Remarked Kasumi curiously.

"I guess so." The weak male laughed lightly. "I suppose I'm really popular over there!"

"Are you sure someone isn't just throwing all their duties at you?" I asked, pointing out the obvious.

"I guess those Eleventh Seat members ___were_rather insistent." He muttered.

"How do you two know each other?" I changed the topic.

Kasumi answered. "He used to be my s-superior officer once, b-before I promoted beyond him. I also h-help him when he gets bullied occasionally."

"I suppose it helps that you're one of Captain's favourites, eh?" Joked the weak willed medic.

"I never knew that."

"I-I guess." Kasumi scratched her own head sheepishly. "She helped me out of a tough situation a while ago, now she keeps an eye on me."

"Fair enough." I reclined on the seat, rolling my shoulders. "Now then, my potential execution not withstanding, what do we do for fun around here?"

"_Execution?_" Asked a surprised Hanataro.

"It makes sense in context." I told him. "So, I'm a bit bored."

"W-We have cards." Suggested Kasumi.

"Yu-Gi-Oh?" I raised hopefully.

Kasumi giggled slightly at the reference. As a temporary occupant of England, she got the reference. "Alas, all w-we have is the regular kind."

"Oh well." I shrugged. "Deal me in."

XXXXXXXXXX

Over the next few hours we played various English and Japanese card games, trying to oust one another as the King of Games. Surprisingly, Hanataro was a gambling beast, getting such combinations of cards that I could almost swear that he had been cheating. Luckily for my ego, the medic had been forced to leave for his shift after two hours or so. Since then, various other Shinigami dropped in and out of the games.

Just before the clock struck one, another familiar face appeared. "Hey, Marc!" Greeted Momo cheerfully. "Hows the recovery going?"

"Pretty well." I told her, dealing in for the current game me and Kasumi were playing against one another, since everyone was off having lunch. "I was allowed to leave my room earlier today."

She smiled. "I'm happy that you've recovered."

"As am I. Still, based on your appearance, I guess we have the verdict."

"No." She shook her head. "They're still making their minds up. Captain Aizen said that he would break the news to you personally once they reached a decision."

"Yay." I stated without enthusiasm. The evil genius himself was going to pop in and say hi, not exactly a good thing in my books.

"I'm sure he'll get you off! Captain Aizen is wonderful like that!" Oh no, she's going into fangirl mode. I knew of the horrors known only as fangirls, so I could tell that it would be detrimental to my health to let her go on any more. It was time to change topics.

"Anyway, what are you doing here?" I quickly asked.

"I came to visit, silly." She took one of the seats that had been abandoned in the lunch rush. "Speaking of which," She gave Kasumi a short glare, whom responded with a defiant (i.e cute) scowl. "Nobody told me that you had left your room."

Not missing a beat, Kasumi responded. "I-It's policy not to share medical records with non Fourth Squad personal."

"Really?" Momo pouted. "At least I was here during visiting hours, huh?"

"M-my patient is still recovering, y-you'll need to leave soon." She stubbornly stated.

"But well enough to play cards?" I whistled innocently. Kasumi continued to glare. "Fine. It was nice seeing you Marc, and I really hope to see you again soon." The Lieutenant gave me a polite smile. "I hope that when you graduate from the Academy you join the Fifth Squad."

She left, leaving me and Kasumi behind. "Why are you insistent on her not visiting anyway?" I mentioned rhetorically, talking to myself more than anything. "You must be a sticker for the rules."

"N-not really." The blonde nurse looked away, a red sheen painting her cheeks. I sighed. She seems to get flustered far too easily.

_"____Oblivious."_Stated Javan.

"_Pardon?"_

_"____Nothing... nothing at all. You just so happen to be rather similar to everyone's favourite orange head protagonist."_The evil laughter said otherwise, but I chose to ignore my bipolar 'friend'.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was a few hours later when the news finally arrived, hand delivered by the original Magnificent Bastard himself, Aizen.

I had been returned to my room by Kasumi (Since I was getting bored of cards, wanted some peace and quiet and because she promised to get some books to read) when the one and only Captain Aizen entered unannounced, a false smile plastered on his face.

"Good afternoon." He greeted me pleasantly, pulling up one of the two chairs in the room and sitting a respectful metre or two away from me. I had the other chair, due to being fed up of lying in bed. "My name is Sosuke Aizen, I happen to be the Captain of Squad Five... I've been told that you've been told the basics of our present society?"

"Umm... yeah!" I told him cheerfully, trying not to show how panicked I was. By the way, on the record I am quite clearly noting that I was NOT scared of him... merely _cautious _of his presence, since when Mr I-Scheme-A-Lot himself gets involved in something, it gets messy. It gets messy real quick.

_"____Shit. Shit. BULL-shit!" _Cursed Javan to me mentally. ___"This is terrible! Hell, we might have known this meeting was coming due to prior warning by Momo, but its STILL crap!"_

_"____I KNOW! I WANT TO JUMP OUT THAT GOD DAMNED WINDOW!"_

"It's nice to meet you!" I lied, trying not to reveal my true feelings. Aizen returned my line with an equally cheery tilt of the head. Right then I just knew that he knew that I knew that he knew and knows just how much of a lie that was. Aizen's a dick like that.

"I am equally happy to meet you. I make a habit of reading the records of all new Academy students, since they are the future, the next generation. I like to make predictions based around them, to help guide their growth." More like guide them down the path that ___he_walked. Manipulative madman. "In short, I like to meet these interesting cases."

"Right." I nodded. "Well, I guess I'm quite the case, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are. Marcus D Solus, a human Ryoka that summoned a Zanpakuto. I don't mean for you to get a big head, but what you did that day when you met my Lieutenant is nearly unheard of, a practical impossibility."

I scratched my head sheepishly. "Yeah... sorry 'bout that."

"No problem, I have no bias towards Ryoka, particularly those that surpass their limitations." Damn. Is that a certain gleam in his eye I see? "Your case is ___very_interesting."

_"____CRAP! HE FINDS YOU INTERESTING!"_

I resisted the urge to nod my head sagely. ___"Yes, this is BAD! When he gets interested, heads roll! By all rights, exiting this conversation via window might be the BEST solution!"_

Well, he can't do anything to me yet. He still thought that I'm just a Ryoka with a sword, just that. In truth, I could literally read his future like a book, having seen the entire Bleach anime. I knew ALL of his plans, so I must never let on that I knew his true motivations, or else I'd be pretty screwed.

"Anyway, onto business." Mr I-Kick-Puppies declared solemnly.

"Right." I agreed. "I need to know what lies in my near future, a few more years of school, or my head on a platter. Both are frightening options."

Aizen gave a realistic chuckle at my morbid humour.

_"____Faake."_

_"____Already know."_

"I see. Yes, let's skip these pleasantries and get to the heart of the matter." Aizen stood up dramatically and cleared his throat, taking a position that seemed vaguely heroic, as if he had just saved a dozen kitten orphanages before coming to see me. "Marcus D. Solus, you are officially in the custody of the Fifth Squad from this day forwards."

"WHAT!?" My mouth resembled a fly catcher. A dozen of the flying buggers probably flew into my gaping maw; I didn't care.

"You've been enlisted." The powerful man stated. "No execution is in your near future. Instead, you will go to the Academy and learn the ways of the Force."

"Pardon?" Did he just-

"Excuse my humour. I meant, you'll learn the ways of the ___Shinigami_." He laughed at his own joke. "I am rather fond of some modern technologies those in the World of the Living have made. I hoped that you would have got the joke, but what did I expect of an amnesic." His raised eyebrow says otherwise, he knew that my claims are bullshit nearly as much as I did.

"Totally got it just now." I told him. "Ever fancied sitting in a swivel chair and spinning around while stroking a cat and making solemn declarations?"

"Once or twice. Back on track, you'll study there until graduation, then you'll return to join _my _Squad, since we brought you here, so you're our responsibility. You screw up, I get blamed. You also won't be able to leave for many missions without someone stronger than you to reign you in just in case you betray us... although such thing is merely a precaution."

I let out a terrific sigh of relief. "I'm glad that you're meeting with the Captains went so well."

"Actually, we only barely saved the skin of your back." He corrected. "Central 46 declared that since you wielded a Shinigami's powers, it was the Captain's authority to decide your fate. We only won seven votes to six; if one more had voted against then your life expectancy would have been severely lowered."

"Ouch." I winced. This had been a close one.

"Quite." Aizen offered me a serious stare, acting seriously for the first time in this situation, abandoning his usual façade to stress the importance of his next words. "This has been TERRIBLY close. You're on a shaky path, one wrong move, a single step out of line, if you ever drift to far from the straight and narrow, and then you'll be thrown from the beaten trail and..." He let the implication go unfinished.

___"Death. Oblivion. A one way trip to Hell. You'll leave this Mortal Coil permanently."_

_"____Thanks for that Javan; you're REALLY helping me here!" _I sarcastically drawled.

"Moving on from such negatives," Aizen was back to normal. "Let me be the first to congratulate you about your new found status of 'not about to die'."

"Thanks. I'm more glad than you are."

"Undoubtedly." The Evil Genius agreed as he began to walk towards the door. "Still, I am glad, and I look forwards to seeing what you accomplish when you have the proper training. Goodbye, a teacher will be here to collect you soon."

And so he left. Surprisingly, for my first meeting with the Big Bad, it went pretty well.

XXXXXXXXXX

___Fate was not always all seeing, not all knowing. Unbeatable, stubborn and a force of nature able to influence all of reality itself, but not all powerful, not fully omnipotent. Her power waxed and waned, differing depending on the reality she acted in. In some worlds she was absolute, in others humans (Pests that they were) would ignore her completely and kick their destiny in the face._

___That was why humans often felt they could escape there fates; since they ran away, since sometimes she didn't have the power to stop them. They ran away, and Fate was powerless to stop them. Luckily, this was rare. Most of the time she had enough strength to ensure that they turned around, drawn back to their initially decided paths._

___Errors were something else though. They were untouchable by her. They could fight back. Their distortion could spread to others, weakening her ability to influence them._

___In a perfectly enclosed system, one could not afford a bug to replicate and spread, lest the entire system fall before the damage. Because of this, Fate would always squash Errors as soon as possible, with her full power. Even if Errors were harder to influence and even harder to pinpoint, she was resilient and stubborn enough to continue to manually search for these errors, then destroy them with outside forces._

___Certainly, in the current world she was overseeing, a bug had slipped away from her. No problem. She was also as equally patient as she was stubborn._

___She was happy to search, no longer how long it would take. Such was her duty._

___She would win in the end; she always did. She could wait, years if she had to. This new Error would die, as would the other one. Such was Fate._

******AN- So then, here's the second chapter. Readers of my initial fic should already be noticing changes, while I hope new readers enjoyed this even if there was a lot less action. *Shrug* It will take a bit of time before we get back to the good stuff; Marc will go to the Academy first, do some stuff there, then we'll have a few things to go through before canon comes along. I am also going to be inserting these 'Fate' sections occasionally. Not sure if they'll be in every chapter, but they will appear, and they will be rather important later on, giving a third party insight into certain events in the story.**

******Expect the next chapter soonish, since its already finished and merely being checked over.**

******Anyway, please give feedback on how this could improve. All reviews are appreciated. Undying Soul out.**


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